Are there any purists out there who commute on tubular tyres day to day? Just bought a commuting bike with a tub wheelset and thinking of seeing how it goes – urban commute.

It seems like the reliability would come down to how well sealant works with them – whether it’s just for emergency, get you home, and you then have to repair the tub properly? Getting the needle and thread out sounds like a bit of a project, tbh, but I’ve never done it so maybe it’s not too bad.

I punctured way less when my bikes had nothing but tubs. And we are talking 1980 on when sealants didn’t exist.
When you do you yank it off and fit the sticky spare you carry. Then mend the old one asap. That’s no hassle really.
Maybe cost might be a factor if you do a lot of miles. Cheap tubs are not as nice as good modern tyres but used ones are fine.
Cement is nicer than tape but others will argue . Your spare is deally a used one which has stretched nicely and has old cement on it making replacement easy.
I am told that some tape users carry the stuff. Weird!

Thks matt – so if you have a glued spare where the glue is cured, and you put it on, will that stick to the rim? I guess with tape it has a backing to it that you peel off, so is nice and sticky just before you need to use it.

I haven’t commuted on tubs but I do know that swapping glued tubs out on the road is easier than taped ones (as mentioned above).

I do know someone who just rides with a can of Vittoria PitStop in his pocket to seal any punctures and he insists it’s cheaper than carrying inner tubes (as tubs puncture less often). Having found myself stranded on my race bike with no spare tub and only a can of sealant that didn;t work I;m not inclined to copy his method now.

I did for a while. Punctures were a pain but I put sealant in the tubs – used a syringe and needle to inject in to them – of course the sealant stopped the leak from the hole I made. they also wore quickly

One thing to bear in mind is that Tubs with latex tubes tend to be quite deflatey. I have Corsa’s on my TT bike and need to pump up quite often.

Last winter I used a cheap vitoria rally tyre (£10ish from p-x) which didn’t do this as presumably used butyl tubes.

Quick and easy to change tubs though (I use tape FWIW)

I never got on with tape as when you pull the tub of,f half comes with the tub and half stays on the rim making it hard to get a decent stick.
Tape on the spare?
Now there’s an idea. Never bothered as cement was more effective and easier to get right and I always had a few sticky tubs as spares. The cement won’t totally harden and there will always be enough stick on the rims as well to get you home.
Usually re-glued it if I felt it needed it later.

I do about 50km a day on tubs.
I use Tufo tubs with jantex tape.
No trouble at all.
I need to add air every 3 to 4 weeks.
I have an old tub under the saddle, it has been there so long in all weather that I doubt it would stick to the rim but at least it would get me home.
I also have a bottle of latex, the tool to undo the valve and pump.
Riding is a mix of urban and dirty countryside roads.
Cheap tubs are awful, they are not straight.